Child&#39;s toilet seat



Jan. 30, 1951 w. J. DUNN ET AL CHILDS TOILET SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 30, 1946 a l NvfN-foksf @Afr l I :am Q3. Dunn T'fOD-NYJ Jan,3o,195'1 f W,J,DUNN ETAL 2,539,660

CHILDS TOILET SEAT Filed Aug. 50, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mold filliam Q5. Dunn B @Obert D. QichoH' Jgm' ,P/M, wkgg Patented Jan. 30, 1951 CHILDS TOILET SEAT William J. Dunn, Winnetka, 111., ena Robert R. Richolt, Tujunga, Calif., assignors to General American Transportation Corporation,

Chi-

cago,.Il1., a corporation of New York Application August 30, 1946, Serial No. 693,834

7 Claims.` l

' The present invention pertains to improvements in toilet seats for small children and has especial reference to toilet seats of the type having a confining framework, including side arms and a back rest, capable of movement from normal operative condition to a collapsed relation tov the seat proper.

Generally stated, it is an object of the present invention to provide in a childs toilet seat a construction facilitating collapsing of the structure.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide a novel construction in the confining framework of a, childs toilet seat whereby the framework may be collapsed automatically merely as an incident to the lifting of the seat into an out of the way position.

Another object of the invention is to provide means including extensible braces normally hold'- ing the arm rests and back rest in erected position relative to the seat member and being easily manipulable to effect collapsing of' the structure.

A still further object is to providev a toilet seat embodying a novel attaching means for detachably installing the seat on an ordinary toilet assembly.

The objects of the invention thus generally set forth, together with otherv and ancillary advantages, are attained by the construction and arrangement sho-wn by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a childs toilet seat embodying the present invention and showing the same in erected condition ready for use in place on an ordinary toilet.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View on a somewhat larger scale, illustrating the construction of a brace employed for holding the childs toilet seat in erected condition.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary' sectional view showing the relation of the parts as the main toilet seat' is being raised and the auxiliary childs toilet seat attached thereto is about to be collapsed.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the childs toilet seat partially collapse-d as vit is swung upwardly into an out of the way position while remaining attached to the conventional toilet seat.

Vhile the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail the preferred embodiment, but it is understood that it is not intended thereby to limit thD invention to the form disclosed, but it is` intended to cover all modications and, alternative constructionsV falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

The present invention pertains to improvements in toilet seats for children of the general class asshown,r for' example, inthe applicants copendingapplication Serial' No. 549,31 led Au,-

2 gust 14, 194.4, now Patent No. 2,415,237, issued February 4, 1947.

Referring more particularly to the exemplary embodiment of the invention as illustratedv in the drawings', it. will be seen that the childs toilet seat there shown is adapted to be removably installed as an auxiliaryy attachment to a conventional adult toilet. As is customary the latter includes a generally oval or ring shaped main seat l0 and a lid I2. In brief, the attachment comprises a seat plate I6v having a generally central aperture I8 of suitably small dimensions for toileting a child, and a conning framework [9 mounted on the seat plate i6 through the medium. of rpairs of spaced parallel links 2U and 22, and including arm rests 24, a back rest 426 and a frontl guard 28. The links 20 and 22 are suitably pivoted to the seat I6 and arm rests at each side of the structure so as to form aY parallelogram, and

the front guard 28- is releasably connected to the upper ends of thel two forward links 2U..

The present invention concerns an improved means for holding the confining framework I9 in erected or operative relation to the seat plate I6, so constructed and arranged as to permit of easy and convenient manipulation when it is desired to collapse the device into a compact form: capable of being accommodated between themainv seat' ID and the lid I2 when both of these parts are swung into an upright position.v Moreover, the invention provides means of a simple and effectual character for attaching the seat plate to the main toilet seat and providing a'pivotal supportv forv the seat plate.

Referring now to the drawings, the auxiliary seat plate is attached to the main seat I0 in a manner such as to permit swinging movement of the seat plate into and out of. position concurrentlyl with the main seat or independently thereof. Thus the auxiliary seat plate is' provided with a pair of laterally spaced rearward extensions 3Q and 3| having their extremities supported on pivot pins 32 and 33, herein formed as a part of a resilient clamping device 34 adapted for attachment to the main seat at the rear edge thereof. It will be observed that the projections 38 and 3l extend rearwardly to such a point that` the axis of the pins 32 and 33 is in substantially vertical alignment with that ofthe hinge for the main seat I and lid l2. Thus when the auxiliary seat is not in use it can be swung upwardly into an out of the way position relative to the main seat i0 as shown in ig. 4, or it can be swung upwardly with the main seat as shown in Fig. 3.

The novel clamping device 34 is preferably fashioned of resilient wire. The central section thereof is doubled back on itself to form a pair ofrearwardly opening spaced clamping elements 35 and 3E 'adapted to grip the rear section of main seat I5. The ends of the member 34 are bent so as to project laterally outwardly and form the pivot pins 32 and 33 which are journaled into bores in the seat projections @il and 3I. ft is to be noted further that should it be desired to use the childs toilet seat temporarily, without attaching it to the main seat Ill, member 34 can be swung around into a position rearwardly of back rest 25, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The improved means for retaining the confining framework I9 in a normally erected relation to the seat plate I6 is so constructed as to permit easy and convenient collapse of the structure into such a thin configuration that it is adapted to remain in its out of the way position to expose the main seat Ill for unobstructed use. In the present instance this means is in the form of braces 40 interposed between the seat plate I6 and the confining framework I9 and susceptible of easy and convenient manipulation to permit the confining framework to be collapsed relative to the seat member or erected into operative condition. In the present preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the braces comprises a pair of telescoping members 4I and 42 respectively pivoted to one of the arm rests 24 and the seat plate I6, and interconnected so as to be held against movement in the erected position of the confining framework. As best shown in Fig. 2, the braces extend rearwardlf,7 and downwardly from the confining framework I9 to the extremities of the projections Si! and BI on the seat plate I6.

' The outer member 4I of'each brace is preferably in the form of a tube having its sides flattened so that its cross section is that of a flat sided or more o r less elongated ellipse. The upper ends of members 4I are pivotally connected to the confining framework I9 on pivot pins 43, which also serve as the pivotal connections between the upper ends of the rear links 22 and the arm rests 24.

The inner brace members 42 can be conveniently fashioned from any suitable sheet or bar stock and are dimensioned to slide freely in an endwise direction and to have an amount of fore and aft play within the tubular member 4 I. The inner ends of members 42 carry dogs 44 for engagement in notches 45 formed in the members 4I, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The protruding lower ends of Vthe members 42 are pivotally secured to the appropriate ones of the projections 30 and 3l of the seat plate I5 by the pivot pins 32 and 33.

When the confining framework I9 is in erected position, the dogs 44 on the members 42 are in latching engagement in the notches 45 in themembers 4I, and the confining framework is rigidly held in such position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. When it is desired to move the childs toilet seat into its out of the way position, the se-at plate I is merely raised upwardly, or both the seat I5 and the main seat IIJ are raised upwardly together, and the connections 44, 45 are disengaged. Preferably the arrangement is such as to permit automatic disengagement of thesel connections as an incident to the raising of the seat plate I5. When the position illustrated in Fig. 3 is attained, the back rest 26 strikes the lid I2"of the conventional toilet assembly and is deflected upwardly Arelieving the frictional'holding pressure between the dogs 44 and the upper sides of the notches 45. Also in this positionthe braces 40 have been moved slightly'past avertical position so that the members 4I and 42 are free to swing rearwardly by the force of gravity, thereby disengaging the dogs 44 from their respective notches 45. As the seat plate I6 is raised further, the back rest 25 continues to slide upwardly along the lid I2, extending braces 40, and forcing forwardly links 22, arm rests 24 and links 20 until the entire confining framework I9 is collapsed into a thin configuration against the open lid I2 with the seat plate I5 lying substantially flat against the back rest 26 and between arm rests 24. Thus it can be seen that this complete collapsing action obtains automatically as an incident to the raising of the seat plate I6 into an out of the way position.

Should it be desired to collapse the confining framework I9 without raising the seat plate I6, the braces 45 can be quickly released by grasping the members 4I and raising them upwardly slightly. This action causes members 42 to be fulcrumed on the underside of members 4I at their lower ends at lila, and thus the dogs 44 on the upper ends of members 42 are forced from engagement in the notches 45. The confining framework can then be swung forwardly and lowered onto the seat plate I6.

With the seat plate I5 in place on the main seat IE! and the confining framework IS collapsed, all that is necessary to erect the framework so that the childs toilet seat becomes ready for use is to raise the back rest 26 and swing it rearwardly into position. The incident action is to bring the entire framework I 9 into normally erected position and to telescope together members 4I and 42 of the braces 45. As this posi--l tion is attained the dogs 44 drop into the notches 45 and thereby the conning framework is rigidly secured and the auxiliary seat is ready for use.

We claim as our invention:

1. A childs toilet seat adapted for detachable mounting on an ordinary generally ring shaped toilet seat for adults, comprising, in combination,

a seat plate dimensioned to overlie and rest upon the adult seat, and a resilient wire member having its central portion doubled back on itself to form clamping elements for gripping the rear section of said adult seat and having its ends projecting laterally outwardly, said seat plate be# ing pivotally mounted on said projecting ends to" permit said seat plate to be swung upwardly into an out of the way position.

`2. A childs toilet seat adapted for use as an auxiliary attachment to a conventional adult toilet assembly, comprising, in combinatioma generally centrally apertured seat plate, a col` lapsible confining framework mounted on saidv seat plate, attaching means adapted to detachably and pivotally secure the childs toilet seat to said adult assembly, and brace means including a pair' of interengaging telescoping links extending between said confining framework and said seat plate for rigidly retaining said conning framework in erected position, said links being automatically disengageable as an incident to the raising of said seat plate into an out of the wayl position to effect the collapse of said framework.

3. A childs toilet seat adapted for use as an auxiliary attachment to a conventional adult toilet assembly, comprising, in combination, a generally centrally apertured seat plate having rearwardly extending projections, a confining framework supported on said seat plate, attaching means adapted to detachably and pivotally secure the childs toilet .seat to said adult assembly, and bracezme'ans including a pair of' interengaging telescoping members secured respectively to said seat plate and said framework for rigidly retaining the framework in erected position, said members being automatically disengaged as an incident to the raising of said seat plate into an out of the way position, the inner of said telescoping members having a laterally projecting dog thereon adapted for latching engagement in a notch in the outer of said members, said inner member being pivotally connected at its protruding end to one of said seat plate projections and the outer member being pivotally connected to said confining framework.

4. A childs toilet seat adapted for use as an auxiliary attachment to a conventional adult toilet assembly including a main seat and a lid, said childs toilet seat comprising, in combination, a seat plate, a clamping member for detachably and pivotally securing the seat plate to said main seat, a confining framework mounted on said seat plate, and brace means including a pairV of telescoping members adapted for latching engagement with each other and having their outer ends connected respectively to said conning framework and said seat plate, said brace means being effective when said members are engaged to retain said conning framework in erected relation to said seat plate, said members being releasable from latching engagement when said conning framework is deflected upwardly upon engagement with said lid when said seat plate is moved into an out'of the way position.

5. A childs toilet seat adapted for use as an auxiliary attachment to an ordinary adult toilet assembly, comprising, in combination, a generally centrally apertured seat plate, means adapted to detachably and pivotally secure said seat plate to said adult assembly, a confining framework mounted on and adapted to be alternately supported in an erected or in a lowered relation to said seat plate, and extensible brace means including a pair of telescoping members interposed between said seat plate and said framework and having interengaging elements thereon for holding-said confining framework in erected position, said elements being disengageable either automatically as an incident to the raising of said seat plate into an out of the way position or by fulcruming one of said members on the other to permit movement of said framework into its lowered position.

6. A childs toilet seat adapted for detachable mounting on a conventional adult toilet assembly comprising, in combination, av seat member, a confining framework and braces for supporting said conning framework in erected position, said braces including inner and outer telescoping members, the outer member being tubular and pivotally connected to said confining framework and having a notch adjacent said pivotal connection, the inner memberbeing pivotally connected to said seat member and having a laterally projecting dog on the inner end thereof adapted for latching engagement in said notch in said outer member.

7. A childs toilet seat adapted for detachable mounting on an ordinary adult toilet assembly including a generally ring shaped seat and a lid adapted to occupy an upright position, said childs toilet seat comprising, in combination, a seat plate, a clamping member for removably securing the seat plate to said adult seat and providing a pivotal support for the seat plate, a collapsible confining framework mounted on said seat plate, and extensible braces including interengaging elements secured respectively to said seat plate and said framework and operative to rigidly hold the framework in erected relation to said seat plate, and means for automatically releasing said elements to collapse said framework as an incident to the engagement of the framework and the upright lid when said seat plate is raised into an out of the way position.

WILLIAM J. DUNN. ROBERT R. 4RICHOLT` REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,410,202 Lynes Mar. 21, 1922 1,701,114 McKinney, Jr. Feb. 5, 1929 1,701,115 McKinney, Jr Feb. 5, 1929 1,774,868 Brousseau Sept. 2, 1930 1,950,016 Zuckerman Mar. 6, 1934 1,953,855 Headworth Apr. 3, 1934 2,196,779 Persson Apr. 9, 1940 2,221,991 Myers et al Nov. 19, 1940 2,304,700 Manville Dec. 8, 1942 

